The Seahawks signed Sam Darnold as a free agent last offseason and won the Super Bowl with the quarterback.
The Seahawks signed Sam Darnold as a free agent last offseason and won the Super Bowl with the quarterback.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
We’re on to 2026.
The 2025 season ended last Sunday in the Bay Area, and the NFL calendar quickly flips to 2026. The Scouting Combine begins next week, which is also the unofficial kickoff to free agency, franchise tags, and trades. The carousel never stops spinning.
As we reorient our brains for the offseason, let’s first analyze the quarterback market heading into ’26 — which teams need one, and who will be available:
Teams that need QBs: Jets, Colts, Steelers, Raiders, and more.
At least four teams, and as many as six, currently need a starting quarterback. But the Steelers look as if they’re going to re-sign Aaron Rodgers, the Colts almost certainly will keep Daniel Jones, and the Raiders will likely draft Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick.
Which means, sorry quarterbacks — the only job that is truly open belongs to the Jets, who will only have Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe on their roster once they release Justin Fields. The Jets almost certainly will be looking for a veteran to start this year while selecting a quarterback with either the No. 2 pick or later in the draft.
The Dolphins and Cardinals will need new quarterbacks if they can trade Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray. The Vikings and Falcons will be looking for experienced veteran quarterbacks to push their youngsters, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix. And the Raiders, Titans, Rams, Packers, Commanders, Chiefs, Saints, and Giants will need steady veteran backups.
Unrestricted free agents: Daniel Jones, Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Malik Willis.
It’s not the prettiest list, especially since Jones will likely re-sign with the Colts. The most sought-after quarterback may be Cousins, who is set to be released by the Falcons before free agency begins on March 11. A return to Minnesota makes a lot of sense. Cousins would also be a good choice to backup Matthew Stafford with the Rams, and an option for Miami or Arizona if they are able to move their current starter.
Rodgers will probably return to Pittsburgh for another uninspiring season. The only other attractive free agent is Willis, who has looked sharp in limited action with the Packers. Miami fans are clamoring for him, and he could be a decent low-cost bet for the Cardinals. I would just warn them, beware the backup QB with limited experience.
The rest of the free agents are veteran retreads: Fields, Joe Flacco, Marcus Mariota, Carson Wentz, Russell Wilson, and so on.
Trade market: Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, Anthony Richardson, Mac Jones, Geno Smith, Derek Carr.
This is where we could see some fireworks. If the Cardinals are set on trading Murray, the Jets look like the landing spot. Murray makes $42 million in 2026, which isn’t crazy for a starting quarterback, and he’ll only be 29 years old in August, making it a decent bet for the Jets. But there aren’t many other teams looking for a big-money starting quarterback, unless the Steelers or Colts throw a curveball.
If the Dolphins find a trade partner to take Tagovailoa’s $55 million salary for 2026 ($54 million fully guaranteed), then we can hand new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan the Executive of the Year award now. I can’t imagine any team wanting Tagovailoa, who has a well-documented concussion history, as their starter for 2026, or for anything more than the veteran minimum salary.
The Broncos once cut Wilson and paid him $38 million, but I’m skeptical the Dolphins and Cardinals would do something similar, or even pay most of their salary to facilitate a trade (though I could see the Cardinals chipping in, say, half of the $42 million to trade Murray). One solution that is so crazy it might work — a Murray-for-Tagovailoa swap, granted the Dolphins are willing to pay the difference in the players’ salaries. But I doubt the Cardinals want Tagovailoa. The Dolphins are probably stuck with him for another year as the NFL’s most expensive backup. For Murray and the Cardinals, it’s probably 50-50.
Richardson and Jones are intriguing options. The Colts may look to give Richardson a fresh start after three seasons. He’s still a physical freak, will only be 24 this fall, and will make just $5.4 million this season, making him a low-risk option for the Cardinals, Vikings, Jets, or any number of teams.
The 49ers have said several times they’re not going to trade Jones, who went 5-3 as a backup last year and costs just $3.25 million next year. But let’s see if they stick to it if the Vikings or someone else offer a second- or third-round pick.
The Raiders could do worse than Smith for their veteran backup, but I wouldn’t be surprised if new coach Klint Kubiak instead opts for a full reset at quarterback. Smith makes $26.5 million in 2026 ($18.5 million fully guaranteed), which may be a bit rich for a team looking for a veteran backup. If the Raiders can’t line up a trade partner right away, they’ll likely release Smith before the third day of the league year, when the final $8 million of his salary becomes guaranteed.
The final trade option is Carr, who is willing to come out of retirement at 35. The Saints still control his rights, so he’d have to be traded. Carr is scheduled to make $30 million, hasn’t played in over a year, and only wants to play on a contender, so we can probably rule him out for the Jets, whose best options seem to be Murray, Willis, or Richardson.
Draft: Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson.
LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Miami’s Carson Beck could possibly rise in the draft process. But in a shallow class, Indiana’s Mendoza and Alabama’s Simpson are probably the only two first-round picks, and Mendoza, likely going to the Raiders at No. 1, is the only one viewed as a sure-thing, Day 1 starter.
Devon Witherspoon and the rest of the Seahawks defense got after Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the Super Bowl.
Devon Witherspoon and the rest of the Seahawks defense got after Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the Super Bowl.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
FINAL THOUGHTS
Plenty to think about post-Super Bowl
Some leftover nuggets from Super Bowl LX:
▪ Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon blitzed just 21 times in 12 regular-season games, with no more than four in a game, and he didn’t blitz at all in the first two playoff games. But he blitzed six times in the Super Bowl, creating four pressures (three “quick” pressures), a sack, and a turnover.
“We haven’t blitzed him that much this year,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “He hasn’t made that many plays on the quarterback — not for a lack of wanting to on his end. But called his number today and made it happen.”
▪ Sam Darnold didn’t exactly play like a champion. He threw for 202 yards and a touchdown, but completed a season-low 50 percent of passes, averaged just 5.3 yards per attempt, had a lower passer rating than Drake Maye (74.7 to 79.1), and had a “completion percentage over expected” of negative-9.4 percent.
▪ The Seahawks went 2-0 in Levi’s Stadium this year, and had more sacks (nine) and takeaways (four) in two games than the 49ers had in eight home games (seven sacks, three takeaways).
▪ The Patriots allowed a sack on 14.8 percent of their passing plays in the postseason, which ranks 179 out of 181 playoff teams since 2000. Left tackle Will Campbell allowed 51 pressures in 13 regular-season games, and 29 in four playoff games.
▪ Maye finished the playoffs with a minus-41.2 “expected points added,” the worst by any player in the postseason since the Next Gen era began in 2016. During the regular season, he led all players with a plus-151.2 EPA.
▪ Like the Celtics, the Seahawks are now going to be sold after winning a championship. Jody Allen, widow of former owner Paul Allen, has controlled the team since he died in 2018, but is now moving forward with a directive from the estate to sell the team and donate the proceeds to charity. The last team sale was the Commanders in 2023 for a record $6.05 billion, but the Seahawks might fetch $9-11 billion.
▪ Seahawks tight end AJ Barner put the game out of reach with a 16-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter, and wide receiver Cooper Kupp called it “almost a disaster.”
“There was a problem, I think it was on the wristband,” Kupp told the Kelce brothers on their “New Heights” podcast. “The formation was backward to what the play call was. I see AJ running towards [me], and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’m about to run the wrong route.’ So I changed it on the fly. We almost had a complete disaster. We got it done.”
It was a positive end to what was apparently a rough first season for Kupp in Seattle after eight with the Rams.
“Being part of this organization, we stepped in and it wasn’t smooth,” Kupp said after the win. “It wasn’t perfect or sunshine and rainbows, but day after day, my family showed up for me, the guys on this team, the coaches.”
▪ Patriots fans can be excused if they hadn’t heard much about Derick Hall before last Sunday. A backup edge rusher in his third season, Hall had just two sacks in 14 games in 2025, and none in the first two playoff games. But he was in the conversation for Super Bowl MVP after compiling a career night against the Patriots, notching two sacks and a forced fumble.
That’s only half the story, though. Hall, 24, four months premature, was dead at birth without a heartbeat before being resuscitated, and weighed just two pounds. Doctors advised Hall’s mother to cut off life support, believing he would be in a permanent vegetative state, but she refused. He spent five months in a neonatal intensive care unit on a ventilator and spent much of his early years at hospitals.
Now, he’s 6 feet 3 inches, 254 pounds, and a Super Bowl champion.
“Man, that was a special moment after the game — hugging my mama, loving on her and sharing that moment with her,” Hall said. “I feel like she’s an unsung hero, an unsung warrior through this whole process. She always fought for me, she never gave up. I just immediately reiterated, ‘Mom, this moment is for you. Everything it took to get here.’ And I wouldn’t rather share that moment with anybody else.”
ETC.
Win-lose situation for league
The NFL batted .500 in legal matters last week.
The league scored a victory over the NFL Players Association in a grievance that will shut down the union’s practice of publicizing anonymous report cards on team facilities and treatment of players. An arbitrator found that the report cards disparage clubs and violate the collective bargaining agreement, as they were “designed by the union to advance its interest under the guise of a scientific exercise,” the NFL wrote in a memo obtained by the Globe.
The report cards, done over the last three years, were effective in shaming teams to improve services such as the size of the locker room, quality of weight room, and gameday services such as day care and family rooms. The Patriots were hit especially hard in these report cards, sliding from 24th to 29th to 31st last year and revealing problems with the team’s weight room and private plane.
The NFLPA said it will continue to administer report cards, but it cannot publicize them.
The league took a big loss in the Southern District of New York, though, when a judge ruled that all of Brian Flores’s claims against the league must be argued in open court, not arbitration. Previously, the judge ruled that Flores’s claims against the Dolphins, the Giants, the Broncos, and the Texans, as well as the claims made by Steve Wilks against the Cardinals and Ray Horton against the Titans, could be argued in arbitration.
While the NFL will undoubtedly fight the decision, this case could settle once and for all whether Roger Goodell is fair and impartial enough to serve as arbitrator in matters involving the NFL. So far, Goodell and the league are getting pummeled.
Family matters
This quote from Sam Darnold on the support of his parents is simply beautiful:
“I shared a great moment with my parents and my fiancée Katie after the game, and I think that’s what kind of got me a little bit,” Darnold said in his Super Bowl press conference. “Me and my dad don’t really cry very often, and I told my dad and my mom, I’m here because of their belief in me. They believed in me throughout my entire career, and I think that’s why I was able to believe in myself almost ad nauseum. Some people called me crazy throughout my career for believing in myself so much and having so much confidence, but it was because of my parents.
“Because of the way that they believed in me throughout my entire career, and it allowed me to go out there and play free and have a ton of confidence.”
The Seahawks celebrated their Super Bowl win back home in Seattle on Wednesday.
The Seahawks celebrated their Super Bowl win back home in Seattle on Wednesday.JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images
Extra points
Hundreds of thousands of fans packed downtown Seattle to celebrate the Seahawks on Wednesday, and so did one Raven — cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who posted photos to social media during the parade. Ravens fans weren’t happy to see Humphrey celebrating another team’s success, but he was likely there for Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, his former defensive coordinator in Baltimore … Here’s why the NFL needs the Rooney Rule: The quarterbacks coaches for the 2024 and ‘23 MVPs — Ronald Curry (Josh Allen) and Tee Martin (Lamar Jackson) — are currently unemployed, while Matt Schaub, with zero coaching experience, was hired by the Cardinals as QB coach … The Texans will get $150 million in public money to open a new practice facility and “Toro District” with hotel, entertainment, restaurants, shops, and youth sports. It will be in Houston’s northwest suburbs and open in 2029 … Boston College got three invites to next week’s Scouting Combine: left tackle Jude Bowry, guard/tackle Logan Taylor, and defensive end Quintayvious Hutchins. The only other New England school involved will be UConn with quarterback Joe Fagnano and wide receiver Skyler Bell … The Patriots are scheduled to play at Seattle in 2026, and are in play for the Week 1 Kickoff Game. But the Chiefs, Chargers, Bears, Cowboys, and Giants are also viable options … Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson was all set to buy 0.1 percent of the Browns ($4 million valuation), but had to back off because the NFL wouldn’t approve his bid because of his ownership and namesake in a winery and whiskey company. He has operated “Charles Woodson’s Intercept Wine” and “Woodson Whiskey” since 2019, and would have had to remove his name, image, and likeness on all packaging to be approved as an owner, which was untenable given the name of the product … A worrisome trend that Drake Maye hopes to break: 18 of the last 19 quarterbacks to lose their Super Bowl debut, dating to Stan Humphries in 1994, never made it back to the big game. The only one who did: Jalen Hurts, who lost in 2022 and won in ’24.
What’s next for the Patriots? Ben and Dan break down the best moves for the offseason.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.